Throcky for Short @yourcousinthrockmortonskates - Tumblr Blog

final blog done, throckmorton out.

Spain, which has long supported Palestine in the ongoing conflict, has upset Israel with its consistent condemnation.

“The position of the Spanish government has aligned it with Hamas. It condemns the terrorism of Hamas then goes on to accept the lies from Hamas as if they are a responsible government which cares for its people,” Rabbi Mario Stofenmacher, who represents Jewish communities in Spain, told Al Jazeera.

I think Spain is doing fairly well here, considering they have condemned Hamas and Israel. This statement from Rabbi Mario Stofenmacher could very well be flipped to Israel - because they are not acting in the safety and desires of Israelis. Just look at Ben-Gvir's performative empathy for hostages families, meanwhile he wants to give the death penalty to "terrorists" - I put that in quotes because I know Ben-Gvir's definition of a terrorist is not the same as reality. Taking extreme actions like this and killing Palestinians in Israeli custody risks putting IDF soldiers, who are terrorists to Gazans, at a greater risk of death in retaliation.

Condemning the murder of thousands of civilians should not get the response of "ah you're believing all the terrorist propaganda." No one has said civilians are not dying, it's not succumbing propaganda to say "What we are seeing in Gaza is not acceptable," as Sanchez did. And Western powers, those who are the only ones that could keep Israel accountable, should be the ones asking questions about the violations of international humanitarian laws by Israel.

#pols477

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel's military operations in southern Gaza

I found this article fairly interesting. The bar is already on the floor, and the US still isn't impressing. Urging Israel to kill less civilians does not mean they will, and without any kind of threat, this just reminds me of that Musk & Grimes interaction on Twitter:

Israel can promise to try and kill less civilians (should you not have been trying to avoid that earlier though?), but that's only words and that's only "trying." The US saying that killing civilians is bad does not really have a strong effect on the

I did appreciate the detailed plan laid out by Blinken to avoid killing civilians, but there's no guarantee Israel will follow that. And looking at how many people have died in the past couple days - I do not see any evidence Israel is seriously working to kill less civilians in their attacks.

#pols477

everythingfox

Bouncy boy

(via)

sealsdaily

Todays Seal Is in a Nice Sweater :-)

dailybeaniebabies

Tiny the Seal

Birthday: N/A Release: N/A

No poem.

everythingfox

Bath time

(via)

sealsdaily

Today's Seal Is: How To Fall Asleep In One Such Quick And Easy Step

the-haiku-bot

Today’s Seal Is: How

To Fall Asleep In One Such

Quick And Easy Step

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

sealsdaily

HAIKU BOT??

gabblicious

a good day for me (a seal enjoyer)

Israel's response to the Oct. 7 terror attacks, which has killed thousands of civilians, may ensure the terrorist group's survival in Gaza.

It's been difficult to see my peers go so far as to say they support Hamas. Desperate situations produce extremism, but that does not mean we need to condone terrorism. They see themselves as supporting the resistance, but there are testimonies, like this one, discussing the perspective of people in Gaza in regards to Hamas. Sometimes, violent resistance is necessary, but in this case, Hamas is not making progress to improve the situations of Gazans. That's not their goal.

Top Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya told The New York Times — from Qatar — that the group’s goals are not to “run Gaza and bring it water and electricity,” or to “improve the situation in Gaza,” but rather to put the Palestinian cause back on the map.

Gazans didn't asked to be sacrificed in order to "put the cause on the map," but it is Gazan civilians that are paying this price. But Gazan resistance to Hamas is silence. They don't only inflict terror on Israelis, and Gazans themselves live in fear of standing against Hamas. Because even if they are ineffective leaders, they are the ones in control.

This does not absolve Israel of its role either. Hamas may not be helping the people of Gaza, but Israel is not working towards a stable and safe future at this point either. I can condemn the actions of Hamas, but I cannot condemn the child that has only known destruction and bomb drones, the child that was desperate for change, the child that became a man who had nothing to live for so he decided to die for something, the child that became a member of Hamas.

#pols477

sealsdaily

Today's Seal Is: Smallest Puffball, Possibly?

Nine years ago, Mengistu was taken by Hamas. A deal on the release of some of the hostages taken on Oct. 7 doesn't appear to include him.

I have regularly seen current events watered down into brown people vs white people. Admittedly, as we discussed earlier this year when talking about the image of Israel and Palestine, those that represent Israel are fairly well-kempt and palatable to Western viewers. This is not the entirety of Israel though, and dismissing silence from Westerners just because "brown people are dying this time" feels a bit dramatic when Mizrahi Jews died on October 7th too, not just white Israelis.

This isn't to say racism is not an issue in Israel (or in Western media) though.

This article by NPR completely caught me off guard - I had read about inequalities faced by Ethiopian Jews, but this particular situation was not something I had heard about before. It's really heartbreaking to see these narratives and perspectives brushed under the rug. We see posters for hostages, we see posts thankful for the return of hostages, yet this family has waited nine years and received no help or news after they "lost contact." I hope in the coming days progress is made to return him to his family along with other hostages.

#pols477

girlsjustwant2havefun

slushyseals

Yes I can confirm this is true.

With the Israeli Defense Forces, we traveled in a convoy of darkened Humvees to see the entrance of the newly exposed tunnel shaft in the co

Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, has become a flashpoint in the conflict that began when Hamas militants crossed the border into Israel on

The release of the videos show far more information about the conditions at al-Shifa. The videos appear to show several rooms and extensive tunnels, but still not to the degree that was described by Israeli intelligence, and not enough to be a headquarters for Hamas. International health organizations have regularly denied the allegations of al-Shifa being a Hamas headquarters. Perhaps recent events were facilitated and hostages were received at these locations, as indicated by the CCTV videos the IDF released.

It's still important to use scrutiny when viewing this media since Israel is not beyond using propaganda and Hamas is not beyond denying everything. I would still rather see an independent investigation from an organization like the UN, because videos recorded by Israel only show what Israel wants to show, and the discrepancies with the guns (as mentioned in the 2nd article) at least show that stuff is being moved around. It may be difficult to conduct any kind of independent investigation of the tunnels though if they are destroyed.

#POLS477

spr0utsies

stantonian93

Israel says it has entered Gaza's largest hospital in a "targeted operation against Hamas".

Hamas forces appear to be on their last leg, as we now have US intelligence confirmation that Hamas had entrenched themselves in Al-Shifa hospital. This is presumably for military strategical purposes, and it is no surprise to me at all that they were within the hospital. I saw wide speculation and debate regarding whether or not Hamas had a presence at the hospital, even after confirmation from the Israeli government. Now that the US has confirmed that information, I have seen the conjecture begin to fizzle out - and turn more into certainty. Terrorist organizations do terrorist things, and this is one of them. I personally believe the pressure of Israel’s assault on Gaza has deterred even more he neighboring Arab states from getting involved, and the Palestinian authority has essentially left them adrift.

yourcousinthrockmortonskates

The US confirmed Hamas presence? How? Israel has not allowed outside, independent agencies to confirm their assertations of Hamas control and presence in al-Shifa. In the article you link, it specifically that the US "backs" the claims by Israel - this is not the same as confirming information. Israel does not want an independent investigation, though organizations have called for one.

The United Nations’ human rights chief has called on Israel to give his team access to Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, after Israel’s milita

Admittedly, I have found other articles that specifically state the US has stated their intelligence indicates Hamas operation in al-Shifa. But they're not sharing what they know and how they know it. "Just trust me bro." Could these channels have to stay secure in order to keep a close eye on hostages? Maybe. But until a transparent investigation is conducted, there's no telling what is and is not true from Israel's release of information.

The United States will not share any Israeli intelligence or elaborate on its own intelligence assessment that Hamas used Gaza's Al Shifa ho

#pols477

peacelovepositivitysworld

1,200 people murdered since October 7, including 368 soldiers • 238 held hostage by Hamas, four hostages released, one rescued

The IDF found lots of Hamas weapons and the hostage holding room while conducting their eighteen hour search. The IDF killed five Hamas members when they entered the hospital, but no senior Hamas officials were found. Additionally, discarded Hamas uniforms were discovered. The IDF plans to fully search the undergound tunnels, but they said it will take more time to conduct.

I wonder if Hamas was in the hospital but was able to escape before the IDF entered or if they had vacated much earlier. I am also interested to know where the hostages are being held since they discovered evidence of a hostage holding room.

yourcousinthrockmortonskates

The Israeli military claims it has found rifles, grenades and military vests — but so far, no Hamas command centre.

What's wild about the weapons supposedly found in al-Shifa is that it was found in the MRI room. MRI... the M stands for magnetic, and that tech is left on. Any kind of unnecessary metal in the room, within the magnetic field of the machine, is a threat to it functioning properly. And you could say "Ah ha! Hamas must not even care about functional medical equipment because they do not care about the people of Gaza!" but I'd say that is less likely than Israel just placing weapons and recording videos, considering they're not past lying to protect their own ass.

Unjustifiably raiding a hospital is one of the most frowned upon things internationally, so of course, Israel will want to grasp at any chance they have at doing so. Like claiming a calendar with days of the week is really Hamas operatives signing their names. Or posting an actress pretending to be a Palestinian doctor, stating that Hamas is stealing their gas.

Taking information about Hamas from JPost at face value seems unwise, and I think it's integral to be referencing the Arab voices in this situations as well.

#pols477

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