Is Raf OK? -- Installment #73
2024-02-01 -- San Francisco & New York City
Tags: 4 Min w/o links (10 With); Videos; Gaza social media content; Jumbo Relief Area!
American Press
Thomas Friedman: A Titanic Geopolitical Struggle Is Underway
Clear for many years: The mission of Putin's Russia: Fragment and weaken the West. (Where did that idea come from? Oh, right. The USSR... but so much more successful since 2000... Greed: More effective than ideology?).
Thomas Friedman sees a similar goal in Iran’s moves.
Bret Stephens: Abolish UNRWA
UNRWA has been on the edge of controversy for decades. Is today’s fiasco enough to tip it out of action?
Accounts... From Both Sides of the Fence
Israeli Side: Druze Mom Fools Hamas and Saves Her Town
On a moshav near Gaza lives a Druze family (Israel ain’t what it used to be)… and the mom engages the terrorists face to face. (The stories that are starting to surface are surreal.)
Gaza Side
Gazan Refugees Blessing Israeli Troops
"May God bless you! By God - You are better than Hamas! You are better than them!"
IDF soldiers offer bottled water to displaced Gazans as they pass an Israeli checkpoint in the Gaza Strip.
The civilians thank the soldiers. An emotional conversation ensues... (1 Min)
Fuck Hamas
"Fuck Hamas!"
A Gazan resident, passing through an IDF checkpoint, tells Israeli soldiers what he thinks about the situation: "Don't leave...! They (Hamas) are donkeys..!" (half min)
Hamas Murders a Gazan
I mentioned in an earlier post that Sinwar, leader of Hamas in Gaza, was released from Israeli prison in a 2011 prisoner exchange. At that time, he was in prison for the murder of five Palestinians. I was reminded recently of his well known nickname: Butcher of Khan Yunis. Earned how? The murderous, barbaric way he and his gang murdered anyone who questioned or challenged his leadership. My understanding is that he and his henchmen killed dozens or more, extra-judicially, in cold, public blood. Often after being tortured.
Yesterday, Hamas police officers in Rafah killed Muhammad Abu Tabana, a young man who asked to take a box of food for his family, from the aid that entered the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing. According to his family members, Muhammad Abu Tabana was beaten to death by Hamas policemen and now they are demanding blood revenge. In the attached video, the members of the Abu Tabana clan emphasize that "Muhammad was not killed by the Jews' fire or by an airplane attack, but Hamas killed him when he sought to get food for his family" and that they demand revenge.
(Graphic footage, 1 min)
Egypt Is Our Jailer
Calling Israel the "jailer" or "guard" of Gaza is a double standard of long standing. Egypt is equally culpable, yet never mentioned. This Gazan calls it out.
A Gazan calls on the noble Egyptian people to come en masse to the Rafah crossing and bring (the border barrier) down:
"Even if (Egyptian president) al-Sisi doesn't want to, even if the (Egyptian) army doesn't want to, 100-200 thousand Egyptians who will come to Rafah will be able to knock down the crossing (border barrier) and allow us to live and eat (in Egypt)... like they did when they overthrew President Morsi. It's not the Jews who are imposing a siege on us. Egyptian President Al-Sisi is the one imposing the siege on Gaza. Don't listen to him." (1 min)
Hamas Is Formidable, Part x
Rockets are still being launched en masse (January 29, Gazan social media footage of the launch, 10 seconds):
Tunnels
IDF Spokesperson: Under a cemetery: a terror tunnel, hideouts for senior Hamas officials
The 98th Division raided an underground tunnel located under the Bani Suheila cemetery in the heart of Khan Yunis. While investigating the tunnel, the forces came across explosives, sliding doors and blast-proof doors, and eliminated terrorists who were inside. Inside the tunnel route, the forces located an office from which a Khan Yunis Brigade battalion commander managed the attack on October 7th, an operations room, a command and control center and the living quarters of senior officials of the Hamas terrorist organization. The tunnel was also used by Hamas to command their attacks against IDF forces both above and below ground.
This tunnel, dug by the Hamas terrorist organization, is part of a complex underground labyrinth, about a kilometer long and 20 meters deep. At the end of the investigation, the tunnel was demolished by forces of the Yahalom special engineering unit. (2 min)
An infographic of the route of the tunnel.
Relief Area
Alef
Bet
Gimmel
The viral TikTok video from Eretz Nehederet…
The dearth of black humor is… dark. In unrelated news, I recently discovered the poetry of Jim Dodge, and am happier as a result. Vacation is coming to a close. Back on the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in a few days.
A comment in California yesterday: “Israel isn’t on people’s ‘go visit’ list right now.” My response: (a) Too bad for them; and, (b) Actually Jews and non-Jews from around the world are coming to volunteer and visit. Planes are full. There is so very much to do, be it on a farm, in a shop, or providing mental health (for qualified visitors). In any language. Hebrew not required. Whatever people think or feel, it is objectively a great time to visit: No masses of tourists and the natives are more welcoming than usual(!).
Thanks once again for the great engagement—emails, cartoons, and more.
Stay well,
Raf
(Thanks to A.K., S.F.Z. and B.F.Z.)