Free Republic

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Israel risks a “strategic defeat” if it does not work to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza amid its war on militant group Hamas in the region. “The center of gravity is the civilian population and if you drive them into the arms of the enemy, you replace a tactical victory with a strategic defeat,” Austin said in a speech at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, Calif., on Saturday.

..... According to a report in Israel Hayom, IDF forces have left clear the Salah ad-Din street, which runs north to south through Gaza, for use as a humanitarian corridor for civilians to leave Gaza City. Civilians have been instructed to carry white flags, identification, and to make their way to UN shelters in the southern region of Gaza. IDF troops have cleared a buffer zone between themselves and the road, which serves as a secure area for inspection of suspects. The Israeli forces will call out in Arabic to suspected terrorists, ordering them to leave the road and approach...

The investigation of the terrorist by the Nuh'ba force | The terrorist reveals in the investigation: "Hamas operatives place civilians on the roof of the house so that the IDF does not shell". New documentation from the investigation of one of the terrorists who carried out the massacre, shows how Hamas uses the residents of Gaza as a human shield • "Israel will see 20, 30 or 50 civilians - therefore it will not shell the house", he claimed • Former prosecutor Mandelblit explained how the death penalty could be imposed on The captured Noh'ba terrorists N12 | Published 20:46...

On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Situation Room,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) stated that Hamas has been using civilians as human shields from the start and “to the extent that there are very high numbers of civilian casualties, the primary responsibility for that lies with Hamas,” but “the number of civilians dying, it has a moral cost, but it also has a long-term strategic cost to Israel.” And Israel should “place a high, maybe higher level of importance on the number of civilians that are affected by these operations.”

Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant commented, upon completing an operational situation assessment: "Hamas has lost control of Gaza - terrorists are fleeing south, civilians are looting Hamas bases." Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant recently completed a situation assessment during which he emphasized the progress of IDF forces operating in Gaza. Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant added: "I have recently completed another situation assessment. IDF troops are working according to plan and are fulfilling their missions precisely as a result of the cooperation between air and ground forces, using precise intelligence.' "Hamas isn't capable of stopping the IDF. The IDF is...

Harrowing video shows Palestinian civilians being shot at — apparently by Hamas snipers — while trying to flee a pediatric cancer hospital where terrorists have barricaded themselves against the ongoing ground assault by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.Footage posted on X Friday shows families walking onto a side street waving white flags before gunfire is heard, sending the crowd scrambling for shelter while a child can be heard crying.Media intelligence agency Storyful confirmed that the video was recorded at the al-Nasr Pediatric Hospital based on Google Maps images, but was unable to say whether the terror group or Israeli...

Hamas is the elected government of the Gaza Strip. Elected, of course, means something different in Gaza than in the West, but even given that there is no real dispute that it has asserted its role as the governing body of the region, and has been recognized as such by the international community de facto if not de jure. The US has designated Hamas as a terrorist organization, as have many other countries, but also recognizes that Hamas controls the territory. Most of us tend to think that the primary role of a government is to provide basic services, enforce...

On October 7, thousands of Hamas terrorists together murdered over 1,300 Israelis in villages near the border of the Gaza Strip. Most of their victims were civilians. Among their infamies, the terrorists torched the homes of families hiding in in-home bomb shelters, burning the families to death; they killed 260 partygoers at a music festival and raped many of the young women in attendance; and they took some 200 Israelis into captivity in Gaza, including toddlers and grandmothers. All told, Hamas was responsible for the largest and most horrific attack on Jews since the Holocaust ended in 1945.Two days after...

It says exactly how to torture them, Israel's President Isaac Herzog said Hamas terrorists are carrying "instruction guides" on how to torture and kidnap civilians, as he explained the kind of "extremely cruel and inhumane enemy" his country is fighting against. "I saw the skull of a woman, in which house I visited, the house totally destroyed, totally destroyed, and they just cut her head off," Herzog said. "I saw a pool of blood in that house where the picture of the children is hanging, and the grandchildren are hanging on the wall with the knives and the hatchets which...

The war between Israel and Hamas has been rife with tragedies and atrocities, but in the midst of the pain and suffering, there are reasons for hope.Israel’s K-9 unit has shown itself to be a remarkable boon to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and has already saved a substantial number of lives. Through these dogs, Israel has been able to free those taken hostage or lost in the battle while also eliminating Hamas terrorists.An Israeli K-9 unit is being credited with rescuing over 200 civilians while under fire in communities near the Gaza Strip.In battles in multiple communities close to...

The Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently released deeply unsettling photos as evidence of the terror inflicted by Hamas on innocent civilians in Israel, including babies. The highly sensitive and disturbing images graphically depict the inhuman brutality that has become synonymous with the militant terrorist group which governs the Gaza Strip.

A @NYTimes essay by @TareqBaconi justifies, and ultimately cheers, murdering Israeli civilians How many ways can one minimize and then legitimize terror attacks against Jews? Tareq Baconi, former senior analyst for Israel/Palestine at the International Crisis Group and the author of “Hamas Contained” who is now president of the board of al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network, displays a lot of them in New York Times guest essay. Purportedly an analysis of Jenin, he breaks new ground in first obfuscating, and ultimately justifying, Palestinian attacks on civilians .. Latest virus in israelophobia is the term: "resistance". The Pallywoody whitewashing of raw...

At least three people were killed and two cops injured after a gunman opened fire in Farmington, New Mexico. Farmington police said the gunfire broke out on Dustin Avenue between Ute Street and Apache Street on Monday morning, with multiple civilian victims. The shooter, who has yet to be identified, was shot and killed by responding officers, with two of the cops shot and wounded. The officers, from the Farmington Police Department and New Mexico State Police, are both being treated for their injuries and are listed in stable condition. The city has since lifted the lockdowns placed on local...

Days after the Crimea bridge attack, and Zelensky's call for a pre-emptive nuclear strike on Russia, missile attacks on many Ukrainian cities are taking place now knocking out power. The scale of attack is much larger than before. I do not have good info on what other target were hit or what type of missile were mostly used. Kiev report 3 wave of missile attack so far. source is multiple telegram

Ukrainian forces have exposed civilians to Russian attacks at times by basing themselves in schools, residential buildings and other places in populated areas, according to a report Amnesty International published Thursday.AP journalists observed several scenes in recent weeks that mirrored the findings of Amnesty’s researchers, including the aftermath of weapon strikes in eastern Ukraine where Ukrainian fighters, their vehicles or items such as ammunition were at attack sites.

The body of the the thread is strictly in the video. Very sad! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1E9n2Q5AWw&ab_channel=BloombergMarketsandFinance

Citizens, Lancaster, and what appears to be an Azov fighter, unsuccessfully attempt to save disabled woman from burning building.

Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott announced plans to launch a 35-person civilian investigative corps to help Baltimore police detectives solve low-level crimes. Scott announced the $5 million program as part of a $4 billion proposed spending plan for the Baltimore Police Department (BPD), The Baltimore Sun reported. Baltimore City Budget Director Bob Cenname said the mayor’s proposal called for eliminating 30 vacant sworn police officer positions and replacing them with civilian investigators. Cenname said the civilians would help detectives and patrol officers in completing investigations by tracking down leads and searching databases, The Baltimore Sun reported. The mayor...

Two Russian soldiers have died and dozens more became sick after they were apparently poisoned by stuffed buns given to them by Ukrainians near the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine intelligence officials said. The soldiers from the 3rd Motor Rifle Division were served the delicacies by citizens in the city of Izium, the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine said Saturday.

KYIV, Ukraine — The suspected Russian missile hit the tall apartment building, engulfing it in flames and smoke. It killed at least four people, including elderly residents, and shattered the lives of a close-knit community. For lawmaker Oleksii Goncharenko, the tragedy was yet another example of potential Russian war crimes. “They are just hitting residential buildings in these areas,” said the Ukrainian parliament member, who arrived at the scene shortly after the explosion two weeks ago. “You can walk around, you will not find any military targets, or any military people. This is just terror.” Yet a few minutes later,...