Conflict? War? Massacre? Self-Defense? Terror Attack? Updates or theories. . .you decide.

Council on Foreign Relations

From the Associated Press: Israeli airstrikes have hit apartment buildings in a refugee camp near Gaza City for a second day in a row, causing many deaths and injuries, the Hamas-run government said. The toll from Wednesday’s strikes was not immediately known. 

Meanwhile, dozens of people with foreign passports entered the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt. It appeared to be the first time that foreign passport holders have been allowed to leave the besieged territory since the start of the Israel-Hamas war more than three weeks ago.

Context- BBC: On October 7, Hamas, a resurrected ISIS, attacked in and near the Gaza border taking lives and hostages. Hamas is the governing body for the Palestinians. Reports from Western media are that Hamas wants to annialate Israel. On the 7th, reports were that 1400 civilians were killed and 230 soldiers and civilians were taken hostage. Of those hostages, only five have been returned; reports state Hamas uses hostages as human shields/ leverage to keep Israeli’s from attacking.

Meanwhile,

More than 8,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in air and artillery strikes carried out by the Israeli military in response, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza. Israeli troops have also massed along the Gaza boundary and Palestinians are bracing themselves for a major ground operation. Israel has also cut off electricity and most water and stopped imports of food and medicine, although it has allowed in several dozen aid lorries through Egypt’s Rafah crossing since Saturday.

1,400

Number of people killed in Israel

8,525

Number of Palestinians killed in Gaza

125

Number of Palestinians killed in West Bank

5,431

Number of Israelis injured

21,543 

Number of Palestinians injured in Gaza 

2,050

Number of Palestinians injured in the West Bank

250,000

Number of Israelis displaced

Over 1.4 million

Number of Palestinians displaced in Gaza

240

Soldiers and civilians being held hostage in Gaza

5

Hostages released or rescued

217

Aid trucks let into Gaza

33,960

Residential units destroyed in Gaza

___

Sources: Associated Press reports, Gaza Health Ministry, Israeli military, U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Palestinian Red Crescent

  

ICYMI: from the new Speaker of the Boneyard. . . .I mean House…..

Mike Johnson to Kayleigh McEnany: "If you put this to the American people and weigh the two needs, I think they will say standing with Israel and protecting the innocent is a more immediate need than IRS agents." (Lost in this is that it doesn't have to be a binary choice.) pic.twitter.com/noqBmtyXRW

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 31, 2023

Joe Scarborough rips into Speaker Johnson's plan to cut the IRS to pay for Israel aid:

"We’ll protect the Jews if you protect the billionaires. We want billionaire tax cheats to get away with stealing more money from the American people! So we’ll let you protect the Jews, Joe… pic.twitter.com/CyPxhm4iQH

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) October 31, 2023