Fact punch: A senior administration official told conservative reporter Curt Mills: “Hamas did nothing. Israeli tank hit an unexploded IED that has probably been there for months.”
Why it matters now: Netanyahu used the Rafah blast to halt aid, resume bombings, and blame Hamas — while Washington knew within hours it wasn’t a Hamas attack.
Moral clarity: When leaders knowingly weaponize a lie to starve babies and bomb civilians, that’s not fog of war — that’s policy.
Grim reported that “After Netanyahu said he was blocking all aid from entering Gaza in response, and unleashed a bombing campaign, the administration conveyed to Israel that they know what happened.”
Netanyahu “then announced he would re-open the crossings in a few hours,” he added.
Grim also cited Palestinian journalist Younis Tirawi as saying that the incident in Rafah was not a Hamas attack, “but rather a bulldozer operated by a settler company ran over some sort of explosive device or unexploded ordnance.”
Israeli officials said later in the day that two IDF soldiers were killed in the attack. According to Haaretz, Israeli military officials said they thought militants fired on Israeli troops after exiting a tunnel, but other reports contradict the claim.
Curt Mills, the Executive Director of The American Conservative, wrote on X that a senior Trump administration official told him: “Hamas did nothing. Israeli tank hit an unexploded IED that has probably been there for months.”
Ryan Grim, a reporter for Drop Site News, reported something similar.
In today’s news, Israel’s stupid fucking genocidal rapists ran over an unexploded ordnance from their own evil carpet bombing campaign, blamed Hamas for the explosion, started bombing the fuck out of Gaza again, killed scores of civilians, said they were once again cutting off aid to the enclave, and then quietly backed down on urging from Washington.
Rather than report that Israel violated the ceasefire agreement as blatantly as any agreement could possibly be violated, the western press have been referring to this as a “test” of the ceasefire
Meanwhile, Italy and Greece call on Israel….
The flotilla, carrying urgently needed food, medicine, and humanitarian supplies, set sail after nearly two years of Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and 18 years of an illegal blockade that has left Palestinians in Gaza deliberately starved and deprived of essentials, as part of Israel‘s ongoing unlawful occupation of the Palestinian territory.
The persistent inaction of states in the face of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip has forced activists from across the world to take peaceful measures to break the siege.
States have a responsibility to guarantee the flotilla’s safe passage. They must step up pressure to protect the flotilla and demand an end of Israel‘s genocide, and of its unlawful blockade once and for all.
Israeli warships then tried to penetrate the flotilla from multiple sides to disperse it, but that all ships maneuvered and stayed on course, he said, describing the interception attempts as a test of the flotilla’s resolve: “Even if you stop 47 vessels, the 48th will continue on to Gaza.”
Earlier in the day, a large warship was spotted near the Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla as its organizers reported a state of high alert at sea.
Contact has been restored with the Alma ship after being lost for a short time, said an Al Jazeera correspondent on board the flotilla.
According to the correspondent, an Israeli vessel came within just five feet of the Alma, and jammed all of its communication systems, as well as its engine, rendering them inoperative.
He added that participants on board the Alma threw their phones into the sea in line with the established security protocols.
According to the North Atlantic Alliance website, Article 4 of the NATO founding treaty allows member countries to bring a matter to the attention of the North Atlantic Council (NAC, NATO‘s main political decision-making body) and discuss it with allies.
The article states: „The Parties shall consult each other whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened.“ Since the Alliance was founded in 1949, Article 4 has been invoked seven times.
WARSAW, POLAND — Poland said it scrambled its own and NATO air defenses to shoot down drones on Sept. 10 after a Russian air attack on western Ukraine, the first time in the Ukraine war that Warsaw has engaged assets in its airspace.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, urging Israel to stop its attacks on Gaza.
In the evening, Macron announced on social media platform X that he had spoken with Netanyahu, calling for an end to the strikes on Gaza to restore the ceasefire and enable the delivery of humanitarian aid.
(March 29, 2025)
NNA – Nabatieh – National News Agency correspondent reported that a foot patrol belonging to the French contingent operating within the reserve force of the UNIFIL Commander in the Qatmoun Valley, outside the town of Rmeish, was subjected to bursts of gunfire from an Israeli occupation forces‘ position while inspecting an earthen embankment made by the enemy in the area.
The UN Interim Force Lebanon (UNIFIL) is also seriously concerned by numerous strikes on the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) despite their declared non-involvement in the hostilities, he added.
The LAF have reported that at least 45 soldiers have been killed in recent attacks.
In a statement, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) confirmed that peacekeepers and facilities were targeted in three separate incidents in South Lebanon Tuesday, adding that four peacekeepers were injured in one of the incidents.
„Four Ghanaian peacekeepers on duty sustained injuries as a rocket – fired most likely by non-State actors within Lebanon – hit their base ‚UNP 5-42‘ in the east of the village of Ramyeh,“ it said, adding: „The peacekeepers sustained injuries and three of them have been transferred to a hospital in Tyre for treatment.“
(November 7, 2024)
„Der israelische Feind zielte auf ein Auto, als es den Awali-Checkpoint in Sidon passierte“, erklärte die libanesische Armee. Dies habe zum Tod von drei Insassen geführt. Bei den Verletzten handle es sich um vier malaysische UNIFIL-Soldaten und drei libanesische Soldaten.
Österreichische UNO-Soldaten seien auch im Konvoi gewesen, aber nicht verletzt worden, teilte das Verteidigungsministerium der APA auf Anfrage mit.
In its latest accusation, UNIFIL said the IDF used excavators and a bulldozer to destroy part of a fence and concrete structure at a U.N. peacekeeping position in southern Lebanon on Thursday. Peacekeepers had also observed Israeli troops this week removing a barrel that marks blue line, it said.
„The IDF‘s deliberate and direct destruction of clearly identifiable UNIFIL property is a flagrant violation of international law and resolution 1701,“ UNIFIL said, referring to a U.N. resolution that mandates a cessation of hostilities in southern Lebanon after a previous war.
The reported incident occurred on 13 October, when the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) said two Israeli Merkava tanks broke through the gates of one of its bases. The tanks left after 45 minutes, following complaints from Unifil.
The Financial Times does not specify in its report where the incident took place, but on that same day, two tanks were reported to have hit the post of a Unifil base in Ramya, a town in southern Lebanon. Unifil said its peacekeepers were being treated for skin irritation and gastrointestinal reactions.
Within the next hour after the tanks left, several rounds were fired 100 metres north of the Unifil base, and the rounds emitted a „smoke of suspected white phosphorous“ that ultimately injured 15 peacekeepers.
The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has said that an Israeli army bulldozer demolished an observation tower and the perimeter fence of a UN position earlier on Sunday in Marwahin, in the southern part of the country.
Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told RAI television that changing UNIFIL‘s rules of engagement or increasing troop numbers could happen if Israel stopped its operations.
„The message we want to send to Israel is that if you stop your army, the U.N. can also change its approach in that part of Lebanon, so that we can peacefully achieve what you‘re now trying to do by attacking Hezbollah‘s bases militarily,“ he said.
In 1996, Israeli artillery shelling on a United Nations compound housing hundreds of displaced people in Qana killed at least 100 civilians and wounded scores more people, including four U.N. peacekeepers. During the 2006 war, an Israeli strike on a residential building killed nearly three dozen people, a third of them children. Israel said at the time that it struck a Hezbollah rocket launcher behind the building.
The Israelis „intentionally targeted a meeting of the municipal council to discuss the city‘s service and relief situation“ to aid people displaced by the Israeli campaign, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said.
The U.N. mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said its peacekeepers observed an Israeli tank firing at their watchtower near southern Lebanon‘s Kfar Kela on Wednesday morning. Two cameras were destroyed, and the tower was damaged, UNIFIL said.
“Yet again we see direct and apparently deliberate fire on a UNIFIL position,” the Mission said in a statement.
“We remind the IDF and all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN premises at all times,” it stressed.
(19:06 BST)
The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (Unifil) said an Israeli Merkava tank fired at their watchtower near southern Lebanon‘s Kfar Kela on Wednesday morning.
Two cameras were destroyed, and the tower was damaged, Unifil said.
The head of UN Peace Operations on Monday said ambassadors in the Security Council had given a “unanimous expression of support” to peacekeepers in Lebanon remaining in position along the Blue Line that separates south Lebanon from Israel, despite coming under fire, with five “Blue Helmets” sustaining injuries following attacks by Israeli forces.
Jean Pierre Lacroix was speaking to the media at UN Headquarters in New York after emerging from a closed door meeting on peacekeeping mission UNIFIL, amidst Israeli calls for the force to vacate the area and move further north.
Das Aussendepartement hat den israelischen Vorstoss in einen UN-Stützpunkt verurteilt.
Zuvor hatten israelische Panzer das Tor zu einer Unifil-Einrichtung durchbrochen, über ein Dutzend Blauhelme wurden verletzt.
Auch der Papst hat dazu aufgerufen, die «Friedenstruppen zu respektieren».
(Issued on: 13/10/2024 – 22:57)
„In a deeply worrying incident that occurred today, the entrance door of a UN position was deliberately breached by IDF armored vehicles,“ he added in a statement.
At least five peacekeepers have been wounded in recent days as Israel targets Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
According to the Mission, at about 04:30 (local time), while peacekeepers were in shelters, two IDF Merkava tanks destroyed the main gate and entered the position.
“They requested multiple times that the base turn out its lights,” UNIFIL said in a statement.
The tanks left about 45 minutes later after the Mission protested through its liaison mechanism, saying that IDF presence was putting peacekeepers in danger.
At around 06:40, peacekeepers at the same position reported the firing of several rounds 100 metres (about 110 yards) north, which emitted smoke.
“Despite putting on protective masks, fifteen peacekeepers suffered effects, including skin irritation and gastrointestinal reactions, after the smoke entered the camp,” UNIFIL reported.
The affected peacekeepers are receiving treatment.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called on the United Nations to immediately pull its peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon from areas where Israel is battling Hezbollah, saying that the terror group is using the international troops as “human shields.”
Netanyahu’s comments came as the UN peacekeeping force said two Israel Defense Forces tanks had entered a United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon position Sunday.
The World Food Program said it is suspending deliveries of aid in Gaza after one of its humanitarian teams was hit by gunfire this week as it approached an Israeli military checkpoint.
In a statement, the United Nations agency said none of its employees were injured during the shooting on Tuesday night, which occurred after a convoy of its trucks had delivered assistance to central Gaza. The agency said one of its vehicles had been hit by 10 bullets — five on the driver’s side — a few yards from the Israeli security post at the Wadi Gaza bridge.
(January 18, 20245:31 AM UTC)
In a statement on social media platform X, U.S. Central Command said the Houthi missiles presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region.
„These missiles on launch rails … could have been fired at any time, prompting U.S. forces to exercise their inherent right and obligation to defend themselves,“ it added.
(January 18, 2024 / 10:54 PM EST)
At about 9 p.m. local time Thursday, Houthi rebels launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles at the M/V Chem Ranger, a U.S.-owned ship that flies under a Marshal Islands flag, according to U.S. Central Command.
Both missiles landed in the water near the ship, CENTCOM said, and there were no reports of injuries or damage to the Chem Ranger.
CENTCOM did not confirm exactly where the ship was when the attack occurred.
(19:49 GMT)
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) and British maritime security firm Ambrey said they received reports of a ship being attacked near the port city of Aden.
The „vessel has been hit on port side by an uncrewed aerial system,“ the organisation said. It added that the vessel and crew are safe and are continuing the journey
Over the past months, Yemen-based Houthi militants have engaged in unprecedented attacks against United States military forces and international maritime vessels operating in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. These attacks fit the textbook definition of terrorism. They have endangered U.S. personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized global trade, and threatened freedom of navigation. The United States and the international community have been united in our response and in condemning these attacks in the strongest terms.
Today, in response to these continuing threats and attacks, the United States announced the designation of Ansarallah, also known as the Houthis, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.