Everything Secretary of State Antony Blinken Has Said About the Israel-Hamas War

Following Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, and Israel’s decision to launch an assault against Hamas in Gaza, global eyes have been on the U.S. to see the role Israel’s most powerful ally will play in the ongoing conflict.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been walking a diplomatic tightrope as Israel faces growing public pressure to call for a ceasefire. On Nov. 5, Blinken traveled to the West Bank to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The two politicians reportedly discussed how to ease civilian suffering in the Gaza Strip

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Hamas killed 1,200 people in its Oct. 7 attack, a death toll the Israeli government revised from around 1,400. Hamas is still reportedly holding more than 200 hostages. Meanwhile, Israeli bombing of Gaza over the past month has reportedly killed more than 11,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

As the conflict continues to escalate, here’s everything Blinken has said about the Israel-Hamas war.

Blinken condemns Hamas attacks

On the day of Hamas’ unprecedented assault against Israel, Blinken made his stance known in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“We unequivocally condemn the appalling attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israel,” he wrote. “We stand in solidarity with the government and people of Israel and extend our condolences for the Israeli lives lost in these attacks.”

We unequivocally condemn the appalling attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israel. We stand in solidarity with the government and people of Israel and extend our condolences for the Israeli lives lost in these attacks.

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) October 7, 2023

Blinken tells Israel “we will always be there by your side”

Blinken expressed unconditional support for Israel during a visit on Oct. 12, less than a week after Hamas’ attack. In a statement given to reporters at Tel Aviv airport, he said “the United States has Israel’s back” every day.

The United States has Israel's back. We have their back today, we will have it tomorrow, and we will have it every day. And we will always stand — resolutely — against terrorism. pic.twitter.com/Bil3NgWEaw

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) October 11, 2023

At a joint press conference in Tel Aviv beside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken again pledged solidarity. “You may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself. But as long as America exists, you will never, ever have to. We will always be there by your side,” Blinken said.

I am in Israel during this incredibly difficult moment for this nation and for the entire world. As Secretary of State, as a Jew, as a husband and a father, I understand on a personal level the harrowing echoes Hamas's massacres carry. pic.twitter.com/aY7MrAdK62

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) October 12, 2023

Blinken condemned the “heinous attacks” by Hamas and said the actions of the militant group bring to mind “the worst of ISIS.” The U.S. mourned “the loss of every innocent life,” he said, and urged Israeli restraint to protect civilians in Gaza. “It’s so important to take every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians.”

The message that I bring to Israel is this: You may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself – but as long as America exists, you will never, ever have to. pic.twitter.com/YJ5ss92guI

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) October 12, 2023

Blinken envisions Palestinians realizing their legitimate right to self-determination

Blinken told the United Nations Security Council in New York City on Oct. 24 that the region faces two paths—one that led to death and destruction and the other to greater peace, with Palestinians “realizing their legitimate right to self-determination and a state of their own.”

“Nothing would be a greater victory of Hamas than allowing its brutality to send us down its path of terrorism and nihilism. We must not let it. Hamas does not get to choose for us,” he said. “The United States stands ready to work with anyone ready to forge a more peaceful and free future for the region.”

The only road to lasting peace and security in the region, the only way to break out of the horrific cycle of violence, is through two states for two peoples. pic.twitter.com/LwDdQE18O7

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) October 24, 2023

Blinken supports military aid for Israel

Blinken testified before Congress on Oct. 31 in support of the Biden administration’s $105 billion national security funding request that included $14 billion for Israel and $61 billion for Ukraine. Blinken argued in a Senate hearing that the two conflicts were connected. “In both Israel and Ukraine, democracies are fighting ruthless foes who are out to annihilate them,” he said.

Protesters opposed to military funding to Israel and interrupted Blinken’s remarks, with a group raising hands covered in a red substance to resemble blood. Blinken responded to the protesters, acknowledging their passion.

“All of us are committed to the protection of civilian life. All of us know the suffering that is taking place as we speak. All of us are determined to see it end,” he said. “But all of us know the imperative of standing up with our allies and partners when their security, when their democracies, are threatened. That’s what’s happening now. We stand resolutely with them even as we stand resolutely for the protection of innocent civilians.” 

Blinken says a two-state solution is the only path to peace

Blinken said in a press conference on Nov. 3 that the U.S. is committed to a two-state solution for Israeli and Palestinian states. 

“The best viable path, indeed the only path, is through a two-state solution,” he said. “The only way to end the cycle of violence once and for all.”

It is now, in this darkest moment, that we must fight hardest to preserve a path of stability, security, opportunity, integration, prosperity – and peace. Not tomorrow. Not after this war. Today. pic.twitter.com/7SpctnmMvg

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) November 3, 2023

Blinken says Palestinian “civilians should not suffer the consequences” for Hamas

Blinken said on Nov. 3 that Israel must conduct its war against Hamas in a “right and lawful” way.

“There are no partners for peace if they’re consumed by humanitarian catastrophes and alienated by any perceived indifference to their plight,” he said, adding that empathy is what binds us together as human beings. 

“I’ve seen images, too, of Palestinian children, young girls and boys, pulled from the wreckage of buildings. When I see that, when I look into their eyes, through the TV screen, I see my own children. How can we not?” he asked. 

Blinken accused Hamas of not caring for the welfare of the Palestinian people and using civilians as human shields, but added that “civilians should not suffer the consequences for its inhumanity and brutality.” 

"I've seen images of Palestinian children pulled from the wreckage… When I see that, I see my own children."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says "we need to do more to protect Palestinian civilians" and they "should not suffer the consequences" for Hamas' brutality. pic.twitter.com/khoNsJqkNN

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) November 3, 2023

Blinken argues a ceasefire would give Hamas an advantage

Blinken said a ceasefire in Gaza would allow Hamas to regroup and carry out further attacks. He made the comments on Nov. 4 in Jordan after holding talks with Arab leaders, who called for an end to fighting and argued Israel’s actions go beyond self-defense.

Blinken responded that “it is important to reaffirm Israel’s right to defend itself, indeed its obligation to do so, and to take necessary steps so that Oct. 7 can never happen again, but it’s also very important the way Israel does that.” 

The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken rebuffed calls from his counterparts in Egypt and Jordan for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, saying that a halt would allow Hamas to repeat its Oct. 7 attack on Israel. https://t.co/7tds2ilvgU pic.twitter.com/3YYsQtC2IZ

— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 4, 2023

Blinken says keeping conflict from spreading is a top priority

Speaking to reporters in Baghdad on Nov. 5, Blinken said a top priority of the U.S. and allies in the region is for the conflict to not spread beyond Israel and Gaza. 

“We also share the interest—and an interest that’s shared with virtually everyone in the region—to make sure that the conflict in Gaza doesn’t spread to other places, whether it’s here or elsewhere in the region,” Blinken said. “So everyone is looking to take the necessary steps, use their authority, use their influence to try to make sure that this stops and doesn’t happen.”

Blinken welcomes humanitarian pauses in Gaza fighting

Blinken said in a press conference in Iraq on Nov. 5 that every leader he met on his Middle East tour had welcomed humanitarian pauses to the fighting in Gaza, saying it would help them accomplish the common goals of freeing hostages and getting more aid to Palestinian civilians. 

On Nov. 9, the U.S. announced that Israel had agreed to four-hour daily humanitarian pauses. Blinken said a key potential advantageous outcome of the humanitarian pause was freeing hostages. Hamas has so far released two American and two Israeli hostages. “We are intensely focused” on bringing them home, Blinken said about the remaining hostages.

Blinken says Hamas can’t run Gaza, but Israel can’t occupy it either

Blinken addressed Gaza’s future at the end of a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Japan on Nov. 8, saying Hamas can’t run Gaza and Israel can’t reoccupy it, although he said its troops may be there temporarily. “Gaza cannot… continue to be run by Hamas; that simply invites repetition of Oct. 7,” he said. However, he flagged that “it’s also clear that Israel cannot occupy Gaza.”

He reasoned: “The reality is that there may be a need for some transition period at the end of the conflict, but it is imperative that the Palestinian people be central to governance in Gaza and in the West Bank as well, and that, again, we don’t see a reoccupation. And what I’ve heard from Israeli leaders is that they have no intent to reoccupy Gaza and retake control of Gaza.”

Blinken said the U.S. vision involved “no forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza—not now, not after the war.”

“[There should be] no use of Gaza as a platform for terrorism or other violent attacks. No reoccupation of Gaza after the conflict ends. No attempt to blockade or besiege Gaza. No reduction in the territory of Gaza. We must also ensure no terrorist threats can emanate from the West Bank,” he said. 

The affirmative elements to get to a sustained peace must include a pathway to Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in states of their own, with equal measures of security, freedom, opportunity, and dignity. pic.twitter.com/xq9S4LJlCM

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) November 8, 2023

Blinken condemns Gaza death toll

Blinken lamented the rising death toll and said more must be done to protect Palestinian civilians on Nov. 10.

“Far too many Palestinians have been killed; far too many have suffered these past weeks,” Blinken was quoted as telling reporters in New Delhi as he wrapped up a trip to the Middle East and Asia. “We want to do everything possible to prevent harm to them and to maximize the assistance that gets to them.”

source https://time.com/6334125/secretary-of-state-antony-blinken-israel-hamas-war/

Netanyahu Discusses Hamas Assault, Gaza’s Future, and Potential Hostage Deal on Meet the Press

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press to discuss Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza. After an attack by the militant group killed 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7, the Israel Defense Forces launched an air and ground offensive of Gaza in an attempt to defeat Hamas. The assault on Gaza has killed more than 11,000 people, the Hamas-run health ministry has said. Concerns grow over the humanitarian crisis, as many civilians in Gaza lack access to electricity, food, and water.

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Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets in protest around the world, calling for an immediate ceasefire and protection of civilians in Gaza. U.S. leaders and other Israeli allies have stood by Israel’s right to defend itself, while saying Israel must respect international human rights laws to protect civilians. However, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke out in a BBC interview on Nov. 11, arguing that there was “no justification” for the bombing and that a ceasefire would benefit Israel.

Below are key moments from Netanyahu’s interview with Kristen Welker on the Nov. 12 episode of Meet the Press.

Netanyahu says “we will win this war”

Welker asked Netanyahu whether Israel can win the war without global support. “We will win this war, because we have no other choice,” Netanyahu said. “There is no life for us, there’s no future for us and our neighbors, if we allow the axis of terror, led by Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and their minions to dominate,” he continued, referencing militant groups based in Lebanon, Gaza and Yemen respectively.

Netanyahu said Israel was fighting a “just battle of civilization against barbarism,” and compared his military to the allies against the Nazis in World War II.

Netanyahu calls out “those who protest for Hamas”

Masses of protesters, including students, have taken to the streets in the U.S. and elsewhere to express support for Palestine. The protesters’ overriding calls have been for an immediate ceasefire and the protection of Palestinian civilians.

Referencing Hamas, Netanyahu said that any protesters “who protest for Hamas, you’re protesting for sheer evil… Who do you protest against? Do you protest against the Nazis? Or do you protest against the allies?… It’s an indictment of higher education in some of our universities.”

WATCH: Israel PM @netanyahu delivers a message to students around the world he says are “protesting for Hamas.”

“Who do you protest against? Do you protest against the Nazis? Or … against the Allies? … It’s an indictment of higher education in some of our universities.” pic.twitter.com/FarsIxoOxA

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) November 12, 2023

Netanyahu says there “could be a deal” on hostages

Hamas took more than 200 people hostage during its attack and so far has released four. Netanyahu said “there could be” a deal on hostages, “but I think the less I say about it, the more I’ll increase the chances that it materializes.” He told Welker that Israel wasn’t “close at all” to a deal until his military started its ground operation in Gaza. He argued any possible deal was the result of military pressure on Hamas.

WATCH: Israel PM @netanyahu discusses a potential deal for the Israeli hostages' return.@kwelkernbc: “Is there a potential deal?”

“There could be, but I think the less I say about it, the more I’ll increase the chances that it materializes." pic.twitter.com/RXc3I7sOY3

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) November 12, 2023

Netanyahu says Gaza must be “demilitarized and deradicalized”

Welker quoted Netanyahu as saying in the past that Israel will control Gaza for as long as needed. When asked if he would support an international force managing the region after the war, he said that “Gaza has to make sure its not a threat to Israel,” later adding that Gaza has to be “demilitarized and deradicalized.”

Expanding his thoughts, he said: “The only force right now that can guarantee that Hamas, that terrorism, does not reappear and take over Gaza again, is the Israeli military. Overall military responsibility will have to be in Israel.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has addressed Gaza’s future, saying Hamas can’t run Gaza and Israel can’t reoccupy it, although its troops may be there temporarily.

WATCH: @netanyahu calls for “a different authority” to govern Gaza after the war, but won’t say if an international force should manage the region.@kwelkernbc: “Who would that be?”

Netanyahu: “It’s too early to say. … [But] the first task we have to achieve is defeat Hamas.” pic.twitter.com/pKEqShNyYG

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) November 12, 2023

Netanyahu claims struggling Shifa hospital in Gaza refused offer of fuel

In response to reports of Gaza’s main hospital suffering from power outages amid intense fighting around the medical facility, Netanyahu claimed that Israel offered Shifa Hospital fuel, but “they refused” to accept.

Netanyahu said: “We offered actually last night to give them enough fuel to operate the hospital, operate the incubators and so on, because we obviously have no battle with patients or civilians at all. Every civilian death, every dead baby, is a tragedy,” he said. “They refused it.”

The IDF provided more details on this claim via Telegram, saying soldiers placed 300 liters of fuel at the entry to the hospital, sharing a video. TIME could not independently verify these statements or the video.

TIME has reached out to the Hamas-run Palestinian Health Authority and Hamas’ spokespeople for comment on Netanyahu and the IDF’s statements.

Following the Oct.7 assault by Hamas, Israel didn’t allow fuel to enter Gaza over fears it would be used by Hamas for military purposes. The U.N. and other aid organizations issued firm warnings that hospital patients could die if fuel were to run out.

source https://time.com/6334179/netanyahu-israel-hamas-war-tv-interview/

Russia Ramps Up Attacks on Key cities in Eastern Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces have ramped up attacks in eastern Ukraine in an attempt to gain ground near two key front line cities, Ukrainian military officials said Sunday.

Moscow’s troops have begun a push to regain territory near Bakhmut, the eastern mining city that was the site of the war’s bloodiest battle before falling into Russian hands in May, the head of Ukraine’s ground forces wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

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Ukrainian troops had recaptured the heights over Bakhmut and made some advances west, north and south of the city since Kyiv launched its summer counteroffensive.

“Toward Bakhmut, the Russians have become more active and are trying to recapture previously lost positions. … Enemy attacks are being repelled,” Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote in a Telegram update on Sunday afternoon.

A Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said Sunday that Russian forces over the previous day repelled five Ukrainian attacks near Klischiivka and Kurdyumivka, two small settlements lying south of Bakhmut. Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov made the claim at the latest of regular press briefings.

Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive has so far resulted in only incremental gains and heavy losses, with Ukrainian troops struggling to punch through Russian lines in the south. Meanwhile, Moscow’s forces have attempted to press forward in the northeast, likely with a view to distract Kyiv and minimize the number of troops Ukraine is able to send to key southern and eastern battles.

Ukraine’s General Staff said that Russian troops were also continuing their weekslong push to encircle Avdiivka, a Ukrainian stronghold south of Bakhmut and a key target since the beginning of the war. It’s considered the gateway to parts of the eastern Donetsk region under Kyiv’s control. The General Staff said Russia’s air force was playing a key part in the latest assault.

Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, who leads Ukrainian troops fighting in and near Avdiivka, said Sunday that the attacking Russian forces were ramping up airstrikes, particularly those using guided bombs. He wrote on Telegram that Russian troops had launched 30 airstrikes and 712 artillery barrages at the city and surrounding areas over the previous day, and clashed almost 50 times with Ukrainian units.

Also on Sunday, Ukraine’s intelligence agency claimed responsibility for a powerful blast in the country’s occupied south the day before that they said killed “at least three” officers serving with Russia’s internal military force.

In an online statement, the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense called the explosion, which rocked the headquarters of the Russian occupation authorities in the city of Melitopol on Saturday, “an act of revenge (…) carried out by representatives of the local resistance movement.”

“At least three officers of the Russian (National) Guard were eliminated,” the statement said, referring to Russia’s internal military agency that reports directly to the Kremlin.

It added that the strike was carried out “during a meeting of the occupiers” attended by National Guard officers as well as operatives from Russia’s main security agency, the FSB.

Russian authorities did not immediately respond to the Ukrainian claims, which could not be independently verified.

Melitopol, a city in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region that had a pre-war population of over 150,000, was captured by Russian troops just days into the war. It now lies well behind its southern front line, even as a Ukrainian counteroffensive continues to grind on in Zaporizhzhia.

In the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, a 64-year-old man was killed when Russian shells slammed into his yard, Ukrainian regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said. Prokudin added that the man’s wife was hospitalized with a skull injury, concussion and shrapnel wounds to her legs.

Prokudin said that Russian forces shelled Kherson and the surrounding region 62 times over the previous 24 hours, wounding four civilians and damaging one of the city’s libraries. The city has come under near-daily attacks since Ukraine recaptured it a year ago.

source https://time.com/6334180/russia-ukraine-war-attacks-eastern-front/

Gaza’s Main Hospital Goes Dark Amid Intense Fighting

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel’s prime minister pushed back Saturday against calls from Western allies to do more to protect Palestinian civilians, as troops encircled Gaza’s largest hospital where doctors said five patients died, including a premature baby, after the last generator ran out of fuel.

Israel has portrayed Al-Shifa Hospital as Hamas’ main command post, saying militants were using civilians as human shields there and had set up elaborate bunkers underneath it – claims Hamas and Shifa staff deny. In recent days, fighting near Shifa and other hospitals in the combat zone of northern Gaza has intensified and supplies have run out.

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“There is no electricity. Medical devices stopped. Patients, especially those in intensive care, started to die,” said Mohammed Abu Selmia, the director of Shifa, speaking by phone over the sound of gunfire and explosions.

Abu Selmia said Israeli troops were “shooting at anyone outside or inside the hospital,” and prevented movement between the buildings in the compound.

The claim that Israeli troops were the sole source of fire could not be verified independently.

Asked about reports of troops firing into the Shifa courtyard, the Israeli military would only say that troops are engaged with fighting Hamas in the vicinity and take all feasible measures to prevent harm to civilians. It said soldiers have encountered hundreds of Hamas fighters in underground facilities, schools, mosques and clinics during fighting in Gaza.

At Shifa, five patients died after the generator shut down, including a premature baby, said Medhat Abbas, a spokesman for the Health Ministry.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the responsibility for any harm to civilians lies with Hamas, repeating long-standing allegations that the militant group uses civilians in Gaza as human shields. He said that while Israel has urged civilians to leave combat zones, “Hamas is doing everything it can to prevent them from leaving.”

His statement came after French President Emmanuel Macron pushed for a cease-fire and urged other leaders to join his call, telling the BBC there was “no justification” for Israel’s ongoing bombing.

Following Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in which at least 1,200 people were killed, Israel’s allies have defended the country’s right to protect itself. But now into the second month of war, there are growing differences in how many feel Israel should conduct its fight.

The U.S. has been pushing for temporary pauses that would allow for wider distribution of badly needed aid to civilians in the besieged territory where conditions are increasingly dire. However, Israel has so far only agreed to brief daily periods during which civilians are able to flee the area of ground combat in northern Gaza and head south on foot along the territory’s main north-south artery.

Since these evacuation windows were first announced a week ago, more than 150,000 civilians have fled the north, according to U.N. monitors. On Saturday, the military announced a new evacuation window, saying civilians could use the central road and a coastal road.

On the main road, a steady stream of people could be seen fleeing southward, clutching children and bags of belongings, many on foot and some on donkey-drawn carts. One man pushed two children in a wheelbarrow.

Tens of thousands more remain in northern Gaza, many sheltering at hospitals and overcrowded U.N. facilities.

Palestinian civilians and rights advocates have pushed back against Israel’s portrayal of the southern evacuation zones as “relatively safe,” noting that Israeli bombardment has continued across Gaza, including airstrikes in the south that Israel says target Hamas leaders, but that have also killed women and children.

The U.S. and Israel also have diverging views on what a post-war Gaza should look like. Netanyahu and military leaders have said this needs to be dictated solely by Israel’s security needs, such as ensuring no threats emerge from the territory. Israel has said a key goal of the war is to crush Hamas, a militant group that has ruled Gaza for 16 years.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking to reporters Friday during a tour of Asia, laid out what he said were fundamental principles for a post-war Gaza, some of which seemed to run counter to Israel’s narrow approach.

Blinken said these principles include “no forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, no use of Gaza as a platform for launching terrorism or other attacks against Israel, no diminution in the territory of Gaza, and a commitment to Palestinian-led governance for Gaza and for the West Bank, and in a unified way.”

Saudi Arabia hosted Muslim and Arab leaders in Riyadh on Saturday with the aim of devising their own cohesive strategy on Gaza. Initially intended to be two separate gatherings, the country decided to merge them into one to expedite the process in response to the escalating violence, according to the Saudi Foreign Ministry.FIGHTING AROUND HOSPITALS

Concern has grown in recent days as fighting through the dense neighborhoods of Gaza City has come closer to hospitals, which Israel claims are being used by Hamas fighters.

Thousands of civilians had been sheltering in the Shifa compound in recent weeks, but many fled Friday after several nearby strikes in which one person was killed and several were wounded.

Abbas, the Health Ministry spokesman, told the satellite television channel Al Jazeera that there are still 1,500 patients at Shifa, along with 1,500 medical personnel and between 15,000 and 20,000 people seeking shelter.

“The complex now lacks food, water and electricity,” he said. “Intensive care units have stopped working.”

Thousands have fled Shifa and other hospitals that have come under attack, but physicians said it’s impossible for everyone to get out.

“We cannot evacuate ourselves and (leave) these people inside,” a Doctors Without Borders surgeon at Shifa, Mohammed Obeid, was quoted as saying by the organization.

“As a doctor, I swear to help the people who need help.”

The organization said other doctors reported that some staff had fled to to save themselves and their families, and urged all hospitals be protected.

More than 11,070 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and minors, have been killed since the war began, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths. About 2,700 people have been reported missing and are thought to be possibly trapped or dead under the rubble.

The Hamas-run Interior Ministry said six people were killed early Saturday in a strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp that hit a house. The camp is located in the southern evacuation zone.

At least 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mainly in the initial Hamas attack, and 41 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ground offensive began, Israeli officials say.

Nearly 240 people abducted by Hamas from Israel remain captive.

About 250,000 Israelis have been forced to evacuate from communities near Gaza and along the northern border with Lebanon, where Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants have traded fire repeatedly.

source https://time.com/6334030/gaza-hospital-electricity-outage-israel-hamas/

Somber Bells Mark Armistice Day Around the Globe as Wars Drown Out Peace Messages

YPRES, Belgium — With somber bugles and bells from Australia to western Europe’s battlefields of World War I, people around the globe on Saturday remembered the slaughter and losses just over a century ago that was supposed to be “the war to end all wars.”

Yet the rumble of tanks and the screeching of incoming fire from Ukraine to Gaza pierced the solemnity of the occasion and the notion that humankind could somehow circumvent violence to settle its worst differences.

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“This time last year, our thoughts were focused on Ukraine. Today, our minds are full with the terrible images emerging from Israel and Gaza. These are just two of the more than 100 armed conflicts in the world today,” said Benoit Mottrie, the head of the Last Post Association in western Belgium’s Ypres, where some of the fiercest and deadliest World War I battles were fought.

During a ceremony with Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and dozens of dignitaries, Mottrie expressed the sense of powerlessness that so many feel that the lessons of the past cannot automatically be translated into peace today.

“It would be naive to think that our presence here in Ypres will have any direct impact on any of the 100 conflicts. The emotions of those involved are too raw for us to understand, and for them to see the light of what we regard as reason,” Mottrie said.

At the same time as French President Emmanuel Macron was saluting French troops in Paris and honoring the eternal flame to commemorate those who died unidentified, war and destruction was raging Gaza. In Ukraine, troops have been fighting Russian invaders along a front line that has barely moved over the past months, much like in Western Europe during most of World War I.

Still Armistice Day largely stuck to the primary purpose of the occasion — to remember and pay respect to those who died for their country.

“’Lest we forget,’ — It should not be forgotten,” said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, reflecting on the carnage of the 1914-1918 war that killed almost 10 million soldiers, sometimes tens of thousands on a single day in a war that pitted the armies of France, the British empire, Russia and the U.S. against a German-led coalition that included the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires.

Generally the most peaceful of occasions, the ceremony in London was held under strict police and security surveillance for fears that a massive pro-Palestinian protest could run out of hand and clash with the remembrance ceremonies.

“Remembrance weekend is sacred for us all and should be a moment of unity, of our shared British values and of solemn reflection,” said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

source https://time.com/6334014/armistice-day-global-remembrance/

‘They Are Behaving in a Fascist Way:’ An Israeli-Arab Lawmaker on the Stifling of Anti-War Voices

As Israel continues its war to eliminate Hamas in Gaza, its government is waging a simultaneous battle to root out dissent at home. On Thursday, Israeli authorities detained several high-profile Israeli Arab leaders—among them former parliamentarian Mohammad Barakeh, the chairman of the High Follow-Up Committee, the national representative body of Palestinian citizens of Israel—for organizing a protest vigil against the ongoing war in Gaza.

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Earlier this week, Israel’s high court rejected a petition by Arab Israeli political parties and human rights advocates challenging a police ban on demonstrations against the war in two Palestinian towns. Israeli lawmakers also passed an amendment to the country’s counterterrorism law that introduced a new criminal offense for consuming “terrorist materials,” which the human-rights organization Adalah—The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel warned would criminalize “even passive social media use.” Indeed, dozens of Palestinian citizens of Israel are estimated to have been arrested for speech-related offenses, including one woman who was reportedly charged with inciting terrorism over her WhatsApp status, which read, “may God grant them victory and protect them.”

The crackdowns amount to “an attack on the entire Arab population,” says Aida Touma-Sliman, an Arab Israeli lawmaker representing the left-wing Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (known as al-Jabha or Hadash in Arabic and Hebrew, respectively) in the Knesset, the Israeli legislature.

Read More: As War Rages in Gaza, Violence Surges in the West Bank

Speaking with TIME by phone from Jaffa, Touma-Sliman discussed the arrests of her colleagues, the wider crackdown on anti-war expression in Israel, and what it means for the country’s minority Arab population.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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TIME: What has the situation in Israel been like for Palestinian citizens since Oct. 7?

Aida Touma-Sliman: Since the beginning of this, we were very cautious. We were very clear in our position and feeling really shocked by what happened on the 7th of October.

Meanwhile, the minister of national security [Itamar Ben-Gvir] was distributing weapons all over the cities. The police chief [Kobi Shabtai] said very clearly that we will never allow any demonstration against the war and whoever wants to send sympathy to Gaza will be sent there. On top of that, we knew that on the public level, there are groups of very right-wing people who are doing a kind of incitement against the Arab population. They are tracking people who are working in Jewish institutions, students, doctors. They are tracking their Facebook and their social media. And if there is a small sign—even in the past—about your Palestinian side, they will report directly to the Minister of the National Security and people will be persecuted. We had hundreds of people either investigated or arrested.

Can you talk about the circumstances that led to your colleagues’ arrest?

We understood that the threat to our population was really serious. Our main concern was not to bring our community to be attacked, so we considered very carefully how we were going to protest. The first attempt was when the High Follow-Up Community decided to have two big meetings indoors: one was with Jewish democratic forces to start talking about the situation and the position against the war, and second was the massive popular meeting for the Arab community—but again, indoors, because we were not sure that if we do it outdoors that it’s not going to be dangerous for the participants. The police called the different halls, the premises we were supposed to have the meetings in, and threatened that they are not allowed to have these meetings and, if they do it, they will suffer economically. We were not able to find a place that can be rented and the police published a declaration that we are not allowed to have those meetings. So instead, we did a virtual Zoom meeting where more than 450 people, two thirds of them Israeli Jews, participated and it was a really powerful and good meeting. They stand clearly against the war.

And then we decided that there is no way not to demonstrate or to say anything about what is happening in Gaza. So we decided that only between 20 and 30—only the Arab leadership, members of the High Follow-Up Committee, including the MKs and party leaders—will have a protest. Only standing, in Nazareth, with one slogan: Stop the War. We told the police that we are going to have this protest, that it’s going to be only leadership, that it’s not going to be a massive demonstration or something like this. The next day, when Barakeh was heading to Nazareth, they arrested him.

How do you interpret these crackdowns? Is this an attempt by the Israeli government to effectively criminalize expressions of Palestinian identity and solidarity?

Not only the Palestinian identity. I think that whatever they couldn’t pass through the judicial overhaul, they are passing now under the cover of the war. When nobody is paying attention, they are eliminating the freedom of speech. They are not allowing any real opposition. Yesterday night, there were two protests in Tel Aviv and in Jerusalem led by our Jewish comrades against silencing the Palestinian community. And they were cracked down brutally.

Because the Palestinians are the main power against the policy of occupation, of destruction, of war, it looks like it’s only criminalizing the Palestinians. But it is also criminalizing the anti-war voices. They are behaving in a fascist way. They are establishing a fascist regime under the pretext of the war because the war has political goals relating to conquering Gaza and annexing a large part of the West Bank. They need to prepare the legislation to protect them later on and they need to silence any opposition for that.

Is there any meaningful political opposition to the government right now?

There is political opposition to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by Yesh Atid, opposition leader Yair Lapid’s party, which is in opposition to him because he is not doing enough, in their opinion, and they want to replace him. But they are not against the war policy.

We—meaning Hadash and Ahmed Tibi’s Ta’al Party—are the only ones who are voting against. There is no real opposition. All of them are supporting what the government is doing. 

What does this all mean for Palestinian citizens of Israel today?

You have to understand that many of our workers and employees who are working in Jewish areas are not going to work or asking to work from their homes because they are feeling insecure. We have seen what happened to our students in Netanya, where they were in their dormitories and they were attacked. Instead of arresting those who were calling “Death for Arabs” and trying to attack these students, they evacuated the students. And they are not allowed to go back to their dormitories. People feel that they are under constant danger.

Are you concerned that the policies of this crackdown might outlast the war?

It will stay. None of [Israel’s leaders] will dare even to try to change it. The atmosphere is really bad. I don’t think that any government that will come will challenge these—at least not immediately. It’s going to take years.

How do you see this ending?

There are signs that they are starting to go for a ceasefire. I don’t think it’s going to end, really. Netanyahu understands very clearly that the day the war ends, his career is also going to end. There is a lot of criticism and the voices are more and more clear about him—that he should resign, that he should leave his position, that he is responsible for what happened. So he understands that very clearly and I’m afraid that he will look badly for a victory photo or a victory moment that can convince people to keep him. 

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I think a message should be clear to the Biden administration that they are as much responsible for what is happening in Gaza. The massacres of people, children who are killed there—Biden is as responsible as Netanyahu for the unconditioned support and the financial and weapons that are sent to Israel.

And I’m tired. That’s it.

source https://time.com/6333939/israeli-arab-lawmaker-aida-touma-sliman-anti-war-gaza/

Hollywood Actors Union Board Approves Strike-Ending Deal as Leaders Tout Gains

Board members from Hollywood’s actors union voted Friday to approve the deal with studios that ended their strike after nearly four months, with the union’s leadership touting the gains made in weeks of methodical negotiations.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists’ executive director and chief negotiator, announced at an afternoon news conference that the tentative agreement was approved with 86% of the vote.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

The three-year contract agreement next goes to a vote from the union’s members, who are now learning what they earned through spending the summer and early fall on picket lines instead of film and television sets. That vote begins Tuesday and continues into December.

Crabtree-Ireland said the deal “will keep the motion picture industry sustainable as a profession for working class performers.”

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said the studios believed they could outlast actors by waiting more than two months before initiating talks.

“What were they doing? Were they trying to smoke us out?” she said. “Well honey, I quit smoking a long time ago.”

Crabtree-Ireland and Drescher would not give specifics on who disapproved of the deal, and why. The board vote was weighted, so it’s not immediately clear how many people voted against approval.

Overall, the happy scene at SAG-AFTRA’s Los Angeles headquarters was as different as can be from the defiant, angry tone of a news conference in the same room in July, when guild leaders announced that actors would join writers in a historic strike that shook the industry.

The successful vote from the board, whose members include actors Billy Porter, Jennifer Beals, Sean Astin and Sharon Stone, was expected, as many of the same people were on the committee that negotiated the deal. And it was in some ways drained of its drama by union leaders declaring the strike over as soon as the tentative deal was reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on Wednesday, rather than waiting for the approval.

But it was still an essential step in returning to business as usual in Hollywood, if there is any such thing. Actors need not wait for the ratification to start acting again — “in fact some of them already have,” Crabtree-Ireland said.

Contract provisions surrounding the control of artificial intelligence were among the last sticking points in the agreement.

“AI was a dealbreaker,” Drescher said. “If we didn’t get that package, then what are we doing to protect our members?”

Here’s a look at those and some of the other contract gains that union leaders outlined Friday. A more detailed look the terms will come next week, they said.ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Productions must get the informed consent of actors whose digital replicas are used. That means there will be a reasonably specific description of how an actor’s image will just be used — a vague, boilerplate sentence will not suffice. This includes the consent of background actors used for crowd scenes and similar simulations.

When artificial intelligence is used for a movie or show an actor is already working on, they will be compensated the same as if they’d actually performed what their digital likeness does, the guild said. Companies will need to negotiate new permission to use a likeness in a new project.

“The caveat to the consent is that it’s only for the one job,” Drescher told The Associated Press in an interview. “They have to come back if they want to use it for something else. That’s kind of huge.”

When it’s a licensed image on a show where an actor, living or dead, is not otherwise performing, the license holders have a right to negotiate a rate.

In a hard-won provision that SAG-AFTRA said came on the final day of negotiations, when generative AI is used to create a synthetic character from the images of several different performers — be it Denzel Washington’s eyes or Margot Robbie’s hair — consent must be obtained from every person used, and the union must be able to negotiate pay for each.ON COMPENSATION

The contract includes a creation of a new fund to pay performers for future viewings of their work on streaming services, in addition to traditional residuals paid for the showing of movies or series. The issue derailed talks for more than a week last month before studios returned to the table.

“They leaned pretty far because they were willing to accept that a new stream of revenue had to be established,” Drescher told the AP.

A 7% general wage increase is effective immediately, with another 4% hike in July, and another 3.5% a year after that.

An 11% increase for background actors is effective immediately, with the same 4% and 3.5% increases in the coming years.

There will also be more money for the relocation of actors who have to move to appear in TV series.OTHER FIRST-TIME GAINS

Productions will be required to hire intimacy coordinators for any scenes involving nudity or simulated sex. While this has become an increasingly common practice in recent years, it had not been mandatory.

Dancers asked to sing or singers asked to dance will be fully compensated for both skills, rather than productions getting a two-for-one when performers do double duty.

Sets must have proper hair and makeup artists for all performers who need them, and those artists must be able to properly serve the particular ethnicities and appearances of the performers.

The agreement also includes more protections and funding for the self-taping of auditions.

source https://time.com/6334007/hollywood-actors-union-approves-deal-strike-ends/